denys-kostyuchenko-FQjUaIMQF3Q-unsplash-750x500

Don’t Just Go Low—Choosing the Right Landscaping Bid

Michael Tomaino Michael Tomaino

When it comes to redesigning your lawn, working with a landscape crew, or scheduling out maintenance with an expert team, low price is always a positive. That being said though, signing on with the crew that bids the lowest doesn’t always set you up for the most success.

As landscaping experts, we understand (probably better than most) that the cost of lawn care, maintenance, re-design, or revitalization can be expensive. To that end, the thought of savings hundreds of dollars – possibly even thousands of dollars – on landscaping maintenance can be a tantalizing idea. It’s hard to shut down the possibility of a budget-friendly crew versus a few higher-charging teams. The problem with this? It might not be as low-budget as you initially believe. Sometimes, working with a low bidding crew can result in costly errors or mistakes in the long run.

When you’re filtering through your bids and offers during the first phase of your lawn care or landscaping project, we at Landcrafters urge you to carefully consider your bids for more than just the cost. Why, you ask? In our years of experience (two decades, in fact), we’ve found this much to be true: You get what you pay for. Oftentimes, the lowest bids can be the result of a variety of factors that could affect your service. We’ve laid out a few of the top concerns with the lowest bids and how they could influence your project.

Quality of Work, Quality of Crew

Unfortunately, a low bid doesn’t always mean a steal-of-a-deal. Instead, a low bid can represent a low quality of work. While this isn’t always the case, in our decades of experience, we’ve found that, more often than not, if a price seems too good to be true, it probably is. We don’t necessarily mean that a lower bid means the crew wont’ work as hard – just that with a lower bid to cover payment and equipment for the crew probably means lower quality of tools and professionals who can work for that price.

Most of the time, a company and crew with a higher bid will have newer, commercial-grade equipment, professionally-trained employees, and a management team who’s experienced and efficient with your time and money. Likely, they’ll know what it takes to preserve your property, as well as correct mistakes quickly and problem-solve where need be.

Typically, companies who offer bids that are lower-than-low sound ideal but will not have the resources available to work with you on a moment’s notice. Smaller teams might also have less men or women on staff to double-check work, meaning, it’s more likely that they’ll miss something, leave something out, or have bigger problem areas, which could result in either a less-than-perfect job, more money to fix the issue, and, potentially, fines for your landscape if it’s not kept up to code.

This is bad news for residential homes but could be incredibly detrimental for commercial businesses. If your clients, potential customers, or visitors don’t feel that your landscaping is safe, clean, or attractive, it could drive them away, costing you more money in the long run.

 

Fuzzy Contracts and Confusing Insurance

In our years of experience, we’ve noticed that often, companies with incredibly low bids tend to have unclear, fuzzy contracts that can cause major issues down the road. While this might not seem like a huge problem right off the bat, anytime you’re putting pen to paper to sign a contract, you want to ensure that you know exactly what you’re agreeing to. If not, you might run into a giant issue later.

It’s also common for low-bidding companies to offer up such prices because they don’t have any insurance coverage. This is a huge red flag. If an incident were to occur or an accident happened on your property and the landscaping company you chose to work with doesn’t have insurance, you could be responsible for the lawyer fees, hospital bills, and who knows what else. We recommend only working with a fully-licensed and insured company, like Landcrafters, who holds worker’s compensation for all employees.

 

Experience, Experience, Experience

One of the reasons that a company could potentially underbid for your business is because they’re brand new in the landscaping game. Now, don’t misinterpret us – we don’t mean to say that newbies can’t be some of the most skilled, creative, and up-to-snuff folks around. But, as seasoned pros in the landscaping world, we know that a little bit of experience can go a very long way.

Experience can factor into making a huge difference in the services you want provided or the finished product of your landscape. As an added bonus, if you’re dealing with professionals who have been in the landscaping industry for a few years (at the very least), it’s likely that they’ll have their very own tried-and-true methods for success, know your area and your soil well, and can remedy problems with quick-fixes.

If you’re interested in working with a company who has the right amount of experience you’re looking for, we encourage you to talk with (and interview) both the company itself and their commercial clients. This way, you’ll get a better idea of the experience level, their qualifications, their affiliations, licenses, certifications, and more.

 

Do you want a quote for your upcoming landscaping or landscape management job? We can create you a 100%-tailored proposal, crafted specifically to suit your exact landscape’s needs – but also ensuring you don’t pay for any service you don’t truly need. Reach out by sending an email to info@landscraftersfl.com or giving us a call at: 727-201-3947 Let’s talk landscaping!

Michael Tomaino

Michael Tomaino

Head Gardener for Landcrafters, Inc. Michael Tomaino, a cornerstone of Landcrafters since its inception, oversees all aspects of business operations with a wealth of experience. With years of adept team management and leadership under his belt, coupled with a robust educational background, both within and beyond the industry, Michael is dedicated to steering Landcrafters towards becoming the foremost landscape management provider in the Tampa Bay Area.